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The pilot of a small high winged vintage aircraft; unfamiliar with the airport and high density altitude operations; lost control during the landing flare in a modest crosswind and a ground loop and runway excursion resulted. No damage or injuries resulted.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 959884 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201107 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | BIL.Airport |
| State Reference | MT |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Small Aircraft High Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Route In Use | Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 290 Flight Crew Type 60 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Excursion Runway Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
I stopped at columbus; montana to consult with a mechanic on normal oil temperatures and pressures for the engine at this density altitude and heat; as I am very unfamiliar. While there; another plane landed with engine trouble and I decided to go to billings; as I was headed that way and the other pilot needed a ride back there.for the landing at billings; the wind was given as 190 @ 6 KTS and I was assigned runway 28R by the tower. I was completely unfamiliar with the airport as this was my first time coming through on a long cross-country and had only looked up the information right before coming half an hour earlier. I got busy trying to find the airport; find the landing traffic; and talk to tower. While I considered the wind; I figured it was a direct crosswind; and 6 KTS did not seem difficult.on the landing flare; I realized I was going faster than I expected (I was [not] used to the density altitude in montana; so I assumed it must be that) and as I touched down I realized I did not have enough crosswind correction in. The airplane went right and I added power to go around - too late; too slow; too much power. I skidded off the runway and swung around onto grass. I was going slowly enough and the grass was slippery enough that the wheels stayed on the ground and neither wingtips nor prop were endangered. However; the plane was out of my control.I contacted the tower; reported we were okay and got out to check the aircraft. There was no apparent damage. I then taxied back onto the runway and to the ramp; feeling like a complete failure as a pilot.I suspect there may have been a quartering tailwind component instead of the reported direct crosswind. However; my inexperience with density altitude; unfamiliarity with the airport; failure to request a different runway; and failure to correct promptly and correctly for the crosswind and initial swerve that started the ground loop are far more at fault than any wind.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: The pilot of a small high winged vintage aircraft; unfamiliar with the airport and high density altitude operations; lost control during the landing flare in a modest crosswind and a ground loop and runway excursion resulted. No damage or injuries resulted.
Narrative: I stopped at Columbus; Montana to consult with a Mechanic on normal oil temperatures and pressures for the engine at this density altitude and heat; as I am very unfamiliar. While there; another plane landed with engine trouble and I decided to go to Billings; as I was headed that way and the other pilot needed a ride back there.For the landing at Billings; the wind was given as 190 @ 6 KTS and I was assigned Runway 28R by the Tower. I was completely unfamiliar with the airport as this was my first time coming through on a long cross-country and had only looked up the information right before coming half an hour earlier. I got busy trying to find the airport; find the landing traffic; and talk to Tower. While I considered the wind; I figured it was a direct crosswind; and 6 KTS did not seem difficult.On the landing flare; I realized I was going faster than I expected (I was [not] used to the density altitude in Montana; so I assumed it must be that) and as I touched down I realized I did not have enough crosswind correction in. The airplane went right and I added power to go around - too late; too slow; too much power. I skidded off the runway and swung around onto grass. I was going slowly enough and the grass was slippery enough that the wheels stayed on the ground and neither wingtips nor prop were endangered. However; the plane was out of my control.I contacted the Tower; reported we were okay and got out to check the aircraft. There was no apparent damage. I then taxied back onto the runway and to the ramp; feeling like a complete failure as a pilot.I suspect there may have been a quartering tailwind component instead of the reported direct crosswind. However; my inexperience with density altitude; unfamiliarity with the airport; failure to request a different runway; and failure to correct promptly and correctly for the crosswind and initial swerve that started the ground loop are far more at fault than any wind.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.